Pictured: (l-r) Jason Rudkin, National Account Manager at Briggs Equipment, Mark Sinclair, Equipment Project Manager : Home Retail Group and Clive Hillman, Store Equipment Manager at Home Retail Group

Cannock-based Briggs Equipment is helping to keep Britain building after securing a contract worth £10million over the next five years to supply and maintain materials handling equipment to one of the country's best known DIY and home enhancement chains.

Over the length of the contract, Homebase will take delivery of around 170 Yale machines, supplied exclusively by Briggs, as it continues to look for long-term solutions that help drive efficiency and productivity.

Briggs is supplying a mixed Yale fleet that includes; power pallet, gas and electric counter balance and reach truck warehouse machines. These will be used across Homebase's network of over 350 stores in both the UK and Ireland. The machines will be purchased outright and serviced and maintained by Briggs over the contract period.

Jason Rudkin, National Account Manager at Briggs Equipment, explains: "Homebase currently operate a fleet of around 680 Yale machines and the company has been extremely pleased with the performance and reliability of the equipment.  They were also looking for a national service provider who could work in partnership with them.  As a customer orientated company Briggs are delighted to be supporting Homebase to provide world-class equipment coupled with a national service and support structure.

"We will also service support around 400 smaller items of materials handling equipment, including pro lifters and hand pallet trucks. Through our short term hire department we also have the ability to make more trucks available on a temporary basis to help the company cope during peak periods."

Homebase sells over 38,000 products across its DIY, decorating and home and garden ranges through its stores and online. It currently serves more than 65 million customers per year.

During a recent visit to the company's Cannock store, which will be amongst the sites to receive new trucks, Clive Hillman, Store Equipment Manager at Homebase parent company Home Retail Group, commented: "The efficient movement of stock is essential to providing the very best service to our customers and Yale machines have continued to deliver excellent uptime along with operator safety and comfort.

"We are looking forward to working with Briggs. Our contract offers great flexibility coupled with industry-leading levels of support thanks to Briggs' national network of experienced engineers."

Adds Chris Meinecke Briggs' Chief Operating Officer: "Over the coming years we will be working closely with Homebase to ensure they get the best value and performance from their Yale fleet. As a business we are committed to delivering value added solutions through a partnership approach."